LAS VEGAS – As the big guys continue to make the UFC heavyweight division the organization’s marquee weight class, “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ runner-up Brendan Schaub is doing his best to stay noticed.

He did just that on Saturday with a quick and decisive first-round knockout of Chris Tuchscherer at Saturday’s UFC 116 event.

The preliminary-card bout was the featured attraction in a Spike TV “UFC Prelims” broadcast that preceded the night’s pay-per-view main card.

The six-fight lineup took place at a soldout MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Schaub, who needed just 47 seconds to stop his most recent opponent (Chase Gormley), continued his streak of knockout wins and needed just 67 seconds to unload a big overhand right and subsequent barrage of punches. Tuchscherer was left dazed and kneeling on the mat, which prompted a stoppage from referee Herb Dean.

“I was really surprised I was able to hurt him and knock
him out because he’s a really tough guy,” Schaub said. “He’s 18-2. … I
(hadn’t) planned on it being a quick fight.”

In fact, as with training partner and UFC 116 headliner Shane Carwin, Schaub (6-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has now posted first-round knockouts in all six career victories. None has lasted more than 87 seconds, and his only career loss came to current contender Roy Nelson in the “TUF 10″ live finale.

Tuchscherer, meanwhile, falls to 18-3 overall and 1-2 in the UFC.

In the night’s other Spike TV fight, “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ cast member and former EliteXC headliner Seth Putrezelli appeared on his way to a successful UFC return. However, fellow light heavyweight Ricardo Romero survived a volley of early blows and took the fight to the mat to set up a painful second-round submission victory.

Petruzelli, a late addition to the card, re-signed with the UFC after posting a four-fight win streak in outside organizations, including EliteXC, where he delivered heavily hyped former streetfighter (and eventual UFC heavyweight) Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson the first defeat of his career.

Petruzelli was well on his way to making it five straight with a series of heavy blows that left Romero bloodied and dazed after just a few minutes. But after surviving the round, he saw Petruzlli noticeably gas and capitalized. After a takedown, Romero secured the crucifix position, focused on a single arm, and then torqued a painful straight armbar that forced Petruzelli to scream and tap out in agony.

The stoppage came at the 3:05 mark of the second round.

“I’m a little disappointed, but I’m happy I stuck with it,” Romero said. “But I have a lot of work to do.”

With his UFC-debut victory, Romero, a former Ring of Combat title-holder, extends his win streak to six fights, all of which have ended via stoppage. Petruzelli, meanwhile, falls to 12-5 (0-2 UFC).

In a middleweight action, Kendall Grove took on an evenly matched Goran Reljic but simply outworked the Croatian fighter for a split-decision victory.

Grove proved the more active fighter and Reljic the more strategic. However, even while on his back, Grove unloaded and landed more strikes – including a crucial first-round upkick that dazed his opponent – and eventually took the victory via scores of 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28.

It was a bittersweet ending for Grove, who’s been a fixture in the UFC since winning “TUF 3.” Although it was one of the better performances for the notoriously inconsistent fighter, Grove cost himself a TV slot a week prior to the event. As MMAjunkie.com first reported, Grove did a radio interview heading into the bout and criticized Spike TV and their involvement in the UFC’s reality series. The comments earn Grove a demotion from the night’s Spike TV broadcast, which instead featured Petruzelli vs. Romero.

“It was a big win,” said Grove, who may have saved his UFC career with the victory. “I’m like a cockroach. I’m hard to get rid of.”

After besting his opponent standing and on the ground in the first two rounds, Harris, a former Division I national wrestling qualifier, set up the cage-jarring slam in the third. With Branch pinned against the cage and attempting a standing guillotine, Harris picked him up and slammed him to the mat.

Although he had an opportunity to unload additional punches on the Renzo Gracie black belt, Harris didn’t need to. Branch was knocked out cold by the blow at the 2:35 mark of the round, and Harris simply walked away from his unconscious opponent.

“He’s a good boxer and a tough guy, but I’m a new man now,” said Harris, who had to escape multiple triangle-choke attempts. “After ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ I became a much better fighter and a completely new man.”

Harris (16-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), a cast member on “TUF 7″ who fought his way back into the organization earlier this year, now has finished nine of his past 10 opponents – seven in the first round. Branch, who went 2-0 in Bellator, falls to 6-1 overall and 0-1 in the UFC.

Roberts scored takedowns with ease in the first two rounds, but the effort of those and the subsequent submission attempts left him winded for a final round. With the conditioning edge, Petz, a late replacement who returned to the UFC for the first time since UFC 77 in 2007, began connecting with heavy blows. But Roberts survived with a key late takedown to make the final bell.

Even with the close final round, MMAjunkie.com scored the bout 30-27 in Roberts’ favor. Surprisingly, though, the judges awarded him a close split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

“I was definitely rocked by a couple of his shots,” Roberts said. “He’s a really tough guy. … I’m surprised at his submission defense. My plan was to take him down and submit him, but he had really good rear-naked choke defense.”

In the night’s opening bout, “TUF 10″ cast member Jon Madsen kept his perfect record intact and moved to an impressive 3-0 in the UFC with a lopsided unanimous-decision victory over UFC heavyweight newcomer Karlos Vemola.

The bout was light on action, but Madsen used an effective defensive game plan, avoided Vemola’s many wild punches, and used some well-timed takedowns to post a shutout (30-27) decision victory on all three judges’ cards.

“I liked that I mixed in some takedowns this fight,” said Madsen, who prepared for the bout with fellow UFC 116 fighters Brock Lesnar and Tuchscherer. “My last couple of fights have been primarily standup, and I like the fact that I showed improvement in that department.”

Madsen improves 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC with the win. Czech fighter Vemola, meanwhile, suffers his first-ever loss in his American debut and drops to 7-1 (0-1 UFC).

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